Dr. Vaughn Bowman

04/11/2020

I originally intended to write this post after my health had stabilized for a year but now feel it is more important than ever to share some good news given our current state of affairs. In March of 2019 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune condition where the body starts to attack the myelin sheath that protects the nerves throughout the body. In my case, I suddenly found myself unable to walk last year and required an immediate trip to the emergency room. A 5 day stint in the hospital confirmed my fears of MS. Ironically, this is a disease I’m quite familiar with having specialized in treating it for years in a group of over 20 patients. While this may have been in cards for me (hindsight being 20/20 and seeing precursor symptoms that were quickly explained elsewise), I’m a firm believer in stress being the trigger that ultimately set matters in motion for my first and second attack leading to partial paralysis in March of last year.

The interesting part is while pharmaceuticals have so far failed to stop the progression of lesions in my brain and spine, holistic medicine has indeed made me symptom free. To look at me today, you would never know I suffered from an autoimmune disease. In fact, only a few close friends and family are aware of my condition. I’ve waited until now to tell the world that we need not ever give up hope. At this time last year I was unable to walk, and now… well, my days of running a marathon are over but being in my 50’s that isn’t really a surprise…but otherwise I’m quite healthy, active, and continuing to honor the Hippocratic Oath I took by practicing as a Naturopathic Physician despite this pandemic and the increased risk to those who are immune compromised. Having such a condition is not the end of the world. Rather, it’s a wakeup call. Just as our lives today are filled with fear and uncertainty, we have little choice but to turn to friends, family, and our spiritual lives. Perhaps this is what is necessary in all our lives…the need for a little quiet reflection. Rather than the nonstop chatter of the mind, fear and loathing of the 24 hour news cycle, I want to challenge each of you to stop… pray, meditate, look inside and listen to your bodies. For it is often in this space, when things slow down, that we can be thankful for our blessings… our friends and family…our health…and the lives we so often take for granted.

In this quiet space of peace and compassion, realize that your body is far stronger than you know. It does indeed have the ability to heal itself… you need only remove the obstacles that prevent it from doing so. These obstacles can take many forms from a bad relationship, job, past wounds, or even the current pandemic. Stress will always exacerbate such issues and so many times can be found to be the root of our many problems. Therefore, it is my wish that you all take a moment to be grateful for your various blessings…if only to decrease the time spent focusing on worry and fear. I wish you all peace, love, happiness, and health!

~Dr. Bowman

05/07/2017

The May edition of Face The Current is out! The entire article can be found at https://facethecurrent.com/shop/magazine/

01/19/2017

09/11/2016

A weekend with Origin Fitness spent fielding questions regarding supplements, nutrition, fitness, and general health at the Rye, NY location of Mrs. Greens. Come say 'hello.'

Fielding all questions regarding fitness, nutrition, and general health, Dr. Bowman is at Mrs. Greens in Rye, NY all day today with Origin Fitness. Come out for a complimentary chair massage with our awesome sports therapist, Frank Marziliano!

08/20/2016

Mitochondrial function is all the rage in the research studies and news reports these days. In fact, the more efficient the ‘power plants’ of your cells, the healthier you will be. Whether your goal is muscle toning or building, weight loss, or curing a chronic disease, increasing your metabolic rate by increasing mitochondrial efficiency is the key to success. These little energy producers require proper nutrients to work optimally. Here are 11 items you can add to your diet to ensure optimal mitochondrial function:

1. Omega-3 oils: Yes, nuts and seeds, fish, avocado, coconut oil and more (conversely, stay away from omega-6 oils like corn, canola, and soy)

2. Calcium rich foods: This may surprise you, but it’s not milk or cheese. You’ll find far more bioavailable calcium in dark, leafy greens like kale, arugula, mizuna, and spinach.

3. Lean Protein: Animal based protein like cold water fish and eggs are king here but you can make do by increasing your intake of nuts and seeds if need be.

4. Grapefruit: Yes, the old grapefruit diet idea…but it can backfire in some with blood sugar issues so be careful and try it with protein to slow the sudden uptake of fructose.

5. Ginger: Not too many of us use this plant regularly in our cooking. And yet, it has many wonderful cellular, intestinal, and circulatory effects upon the body.

6. Green Tea: Need that morning energy fix? Try a cup of green tea occasionally rather than coffee. While it may not have the same amount of caffeine, it has many other beneficial compounds.

7. Hot peppers: Whether it’s a cayenne pepper, a scotch bonnet, or the fire inducing ghost pepper, all have amazing cellular effects upon metabolism.

8. Apples and Pears: These two fruit are well documented to not only be high in fiber but also contain co-factors critical for mitochondria. Once again, be careful if pre diabetic or diabetic however as they will elevate blood sugar (eat with protein).

9. Broccoli: Long known to be a ‘superfood’, this power-packed veggie is just loaded with fuel for our cells. Just be careful to steam lightly if you’re going to cook it at all to avoid nutrient degradation.

10. Whole grains: Yes, proper, clean carbohydrate is important. We just typically eat too much and the wrong kind (processed). This should make up the minority of your plate.

11. Water with lemon: I saved the best for last. What delivers all these wonderful nutrients to the cells in need? Of course you want plenty of water to encourage proper absorption, assimilation, utilization, and waste elimination!

Dr. Vaughn Bowman

07/24/2016

It’s going to be a scorcher this weekend with temperatures approaching 98 degrees. Be careful to stay well hydrated, especially if you plan to be active outside enjoying some sun. Just remember, your body can only assimilate or utilize a few ounces at a time. Any additional water consumed rapidly will just hit your kidney and bladder a few minutes later. In short, it’s not just about the volume of water you drink, but how you drink it. Here are three quick rules to drinking water:

1. SIP your water throughout the day. Ideally, you should be taking a sip every 30 minutes or so to optimize hydration and utilization of the water. This prevents it from simply running over your dried out cells and causing you to run to the bathroom if you chug 12 ounces at once.

2. Slowly increase your water intake to 1/2 your body weight in ounces. This is likely far more than you consume now. But if you try to attempt this level of intake tomorrow you’ll spend all day on the throne. You have to increase slowly. I typically recommend one additional 8 ounce glass every 4 to 7 days. If you find yourself voiding more than once per hour you need to back off. Overwhelming kidney and bladder aren’t a good idea either so give your body a chance to adapt by increasing slowly.

3. Plan your daily consumption and keep track. Ideally, you need to consume 80% of your planned daily intake before 6 PM. Otherwise, you’ll be up multiple times each night to urinate and it makes no sense to fix one problem and cause 3 more. This doesn’t mean you are not drinking water after 6 PM. You’re simply tapering as you’ve consumed the majority earlier in the day when it’s needed most and used effectively.

Tired of just water, no problem! Try infusing it will cucumber, frozen berries, lemon, lime, or anything else that doesn’t add artificial coloring, flavoring, or sweeteners. Just be sure to stay well hydrated.

Dr. Vaughn Bowman

06/10/2016

There is a lot of conflicting information out there regarding protein intake. Just how much do you really need? As usual, the answer varies according to several factors and thus the confusion to begin with. However, today we’re going to take the mystery out of protein and provide an easy way to calculate your daily intake requirement.

First, a little background on why protein is important in the first place. Proteins are, of course, the building blocks for all tissues. Indeed, the construction, maintenance, and repair of skin, organs, and muscles don’t occur at all without protein. All told, there are 22 different amino acids found in protein. Of these, our bodies can make 14 of them while the other 8 only come from dietary sources. These select 8 are thus considered ‘essential amino acids.’ Only protein sources from animals contain all 22 amino acids and are therefore considered ‘complete proteins.’

The trick is to incorporate clean, easy to digest protein into the diet throughout the day (with each meal), rather than load up at dinner for example. Too much protein, especially all at once is a recipe for inflammation, digestive problems, liver and kidney problems, and even cancer. If you have to saw your protein with a knife and fork, realize it will require more digestive work to extract those amino acids than say an egg or fish, which flake apart by comparison. This is not to say that red meat is not a good protein source however. In fact, it’s packed with protein. But your digestive system will have to be in excellent shape to unlock those nutrients.

For comparative purposes, 3 ounces of meat will typically provide 20 to 25 grams of protein while an egg contains around 6 grams, nuts and seeds will yield 4 to 8 grams per 1/4 cup, and vegetables consist of 1 to 2 grams per ounce. Fish is an awesome source of protein from a digestive standpoint but contains roughly half the protein content per ounce of other meats (which may be a good thing if you eat too much protein already—a common problem).

Now for the fun part, a little math to help you determine your protein needs. You’ll first need to know your percent body fat. Subtract this number from 100 to determine your percent lean body mass. Then, multiply your current body weight in pounds times your percent lean body mass and divide the answer by 2 to get your daily grams of protein required. Are you still with me? Let’s give an example. A male with 14% body fat has a lean body mass of 86% (100-14). Weighing in at 172 pounds, this male has a lean body weight of just under 148 pounds (172 x 0.86). Dividing 148 by 2 (or 0.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass) gives us 74 grams of protein per day.

While this individual would likely be perfectly happy and healthy with only 60 grams of protein daily, it’s not wise to consistently be in excess of your daily requirements unless exercising intensely or a highly active athlete. As a whole, we Americans tend to eat too much protein. Often we consume the wrong type of protein and certainly at the wrong time of day—but this is yet another topic entirely. As protein is indeed essential for life, ensure you receive adequate amounts, in divided portions throughout the day.

Dr. Vaughn Bowman